Roundup: Four Gaming Cases Under $150
Inside The Z7 Plus
Made from a light-gauge steel sheet of similar thickness compared to its NZXT competitor, Zalman’s Z7 Plus is still quite a bit more rigid, which is probably due to its more heavily boxed drive cage and lack of cable pass-through holes. However, Zalman retains the access hole for CPU cooler support plates and also uses rolled edges, like its competitor, to increase panel rigidity and eliminate sharp edges.
Twist-out EMI shields fill three of the Z7 Plus’ nine 5.25” bays, creating the case’s only scratch hazard during the removal process. Screw holes allow these shields to be re-installed.
A single 120mm blue LED fan cools Zalman’s five-drive, four-bay adapter cage. Rubber grommets and shoulder screws reduce the transmission of noise between the hard drives and case panels.
A tray under the drive cage accepts a single 3.5” or 2.5” internal drive, and can be used with a removable face panel for 3.5” external drives.
The Z7 Plus includes two 120mm side fans, but only one is pre-installed. The side-fan controller supports both fans via three-pin connections, but its four-pin power input could cause interference between the power supply's cable end and expansion cards. Thus, it’s best used with right-angle power plugs.
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